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The silence was eerie. He pulled the thin blankets up closer around himself and tried to think of other things.
    Every time he shut his eyes, all he could see was blood. He saw the thick red liquid that had radiated into a gruesome halo around Lucas’s prone body. He saw the dark red staining the clothes Lucas had been wearing as it seeped from the hole in his gut, and he saw the letters, so much more profane painted in blood next to Lucas’s body.
    Declan breathed deeply in and out, reminding his addled brain that Lucas was fine. A bit of an ass, but fine. He closed his eyes and a few minutes later, he was asleep.

Chapter 3

     
    T HE NEXT morning, Declan awoke early. His back was aching, and his mouth felt like he’d spent the evening french-kissing roadkill. He was gross and sticky. Spending all day and then sleeping all night in your uniform was a surefire way to feel awfully disgusting come morning. He rolled out of bed and stretched his cramping muscles. He realized he took his bed at home for granted. As soon as he got back, he planned to remedy that.
    He surveyed the room, noticing a doctor asleep on the bunk across from him. Declan snuck out of the room as quietly as possible.
    Lucas was still asleep when Declan got to his room, so he took his spot in the orange chair to wait. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Mack letting him know that he would be back in the office later that day. He wanted to run a background check on Lucas and see if the CSU had found anything at the crime scene. He wasn’t getting his hopes up too high. He knew there were no witnesses, and often the unit in such a small town didn’t have the resources to conduct as detailed an investigation as some of the larger cities. No harm in checking things out, though.
    He leaned forward and picked up a magazine before sitting back and propping his feet up on the table. He didn’t read magazines, but waiting around had gotten a little old, and he didn’t want to stay idle all day. It was better than nothing.
    He’d made it almost all the way through an article about banishing cellulite when he caught a slight movement out of the corner of his eye. He tossed the magazine back onto the table and sat up straight so he could see if Lucas’s eyes were open.
    “What the fuck are you still doing here?” Lucas demanded, his voice still groggy from sleep.
    Declan guessed that meant he was awake.“I told you I would be back in the morning,” he replied.
    “You didn’t say—” Lucas looked at the glowing green numbers beside his bed. “—seven fucking oh seven in the morning.”
    “I wanted to see if you remembered anything else.”
    Lucas looked indignant. “Nope. You can go. Thanks for stopping by, officer.”
    “Lucas, look. I know this is hard.” Declan got up from his chair and stepped forward to stand beside Lucas’s bed. “I know it can be scary to give information to the cops and not have any idea what we’re going to do with it. You might think there is some way that whoever did this to you will find out, and you’ll get hurt again. I promise I’m not going to let that happen.”
    Lucas’s blue eyes were wide enough that Declan could make out the darker ring that ran the circumference of his irises. “You have no fucking idea what you’re talking about, man. I told you. I don’t remember anything. Now, can you just go? Please? I’m tired, and I can’t sleep with you over there staring at me.”
    Declan knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere with this today. He needed a better understanding of who he was dealing with. Maybe if he could find out who this guy was, he would be able to broach the situation from an angle that Lucas could understand. It was worth a shot.
    “Okay, I’m going to go. I will be back later, though. You’re not getting rid of me that easily. And in the meantime, I meant what I said about you calling me. Anytime, day or night, I don’t mind.”
    “Whatever,” Lucas said again. Declan